COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 4, 2011) – U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand) has selected the 14-player roster that will be eligible to compete in the opening preliminary round weekend of the FIVB World Grand Prix Aug. 5-7 in Luohe, China.

Setters named to the roster are Lindsey Berg (Honolulu) and Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.). Opposites on the squad are Destinee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) and Nancy Metcalf (Hull, Iowa). Liberos on the roster are Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) and Tamari Miyashiro (Kaneohe, Hawaii).

McCutcheon will select 12 players from the 14-player roster before each match to dress and be eligible to compete in that day’s match. The 12 players can change from one match to the next. Further, the 14 player roster for each of the three preliminary round weekends may change so long as the added players were on the 20-player preliminary roster submitted in June.

The Americans are grouped in Pool D the first weekend as they attempts to defend the FIVB World Grand Prix title they won last year. In Pool D, the Americans face ninth-ranked Serbia on Aug. 5 at 4 p.m. (1 a.m. PT), No. 19 Kazakhstan on Aug. 6 at 4 p.m. (1 a.m. PT) and No. 6 China on Aug. 7 at 7:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m. PT).

Team USA travels to Komaki, Japan, for the second preliminary round weekend. The U.S. opens Pool H against No. 13 Dominican Republic on Aug. 12 at 3 p.m. (11 p.m. PT on Aug. 11), followed by No. 3 Japan on Aug. 13 at 6 p.m. (2 a.m. PT) and a rematch with No. 9 Serbia on Aug. 14 at 3 p.m. (11 p.m. PT on Aug. 13).

The Americans conclude the preliminary round in Hong Kong, which will be hosting two pools under the Hong Kong Coliseum roof at the same time. The U.S. faces No. 10 Germany on Aug. 19 at 3 p.m. (midnight PT), followed by No. 4 Italy on Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. (4 a.m. PT) and No. 15 Peru on Aug. 21 at 11 a.m. (10 p.m. PT on Aug. 20).

The 2011 FIVB World Grand Prix Final Round will have eight teams divided into two groups playing a round-robin schedule Aug. 24-26. The top two teams in each pool advance to crossover semifinals on Aug. 27 with the medal matches played on Aug. 28. The Final Round winner receives $200,000, while each preliminary weekend winner receives $35,000.

The U.S. Women’s National Team will face three teams ranked among the top six in the world (No. 3 Japan, No. 4 Italy and No. 6 China), along with three other matches against top 10 teams (twice against No. 9 Peru and No. 10 Germany). Team USA’s nine FIVB World Grand Prix preliminary round matches result in an average world ranking of 9.78.

Team USA has already competed in two tournaments this year, finishing with a fourth-place finish at the Montreux Volley Masters (June 7-12 at Montreux, Switzerland) and the bronze medal at the Pan American Cup (July 1-9 at Juarez, Mexico). During the Pan American Cup, the U.S. defeated NORCECA rival Cuba in three sets during the bronze-medal match. The Americans also stretched Brazil, the eventual gold-medalist of the tournament, to five sets on the final day of pool play.